Doll Addendum
by AkaneRules
Summary: Taking place directly after the events in Mamoru Oshii's second Ghost in the Shell film, Togusa brings home a doll to his daughter but finds that it's not the only thing he brought back with him...
1. Chapter 1

Day 1

After Batou left with Gabu, Togusa carried his daughter back inside the house with the new doll he got for her. It was made of porcelain and wore a white and peach colored dress. Resting on its blonde, curly locks was a matching hat with a bow. Whoever created the doll was certain to capture the qualities of a real girl.

Togusa set his daughter down and stretched a bit after doing so. The most recent mission had been very stressful but thankfully it was all over.

"Welcome home, Love," His wife greeted him with a peck on the lips. She looked at their daughter and admired the new toy, "My! What a lovely doll!"

"Daddy got it for me!" The girl smiled and held up her new friend.

Togusa chuckled and nodded, "I certainly did." He looked at his wife and explained, "When Batou and I were in China, I saw an old antique store and decided to visit...which reminds me." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small cloth case. Inside of it was a pair of sapphire earrings. He handed them to his wife whom looked very appreciative.

"They're beautiful! Thank you," She kissed him once more before putting them on. She tilted her head from side to side and asked, "How do they look on me?"

"Perfect." He smiled. He then continued his story, "After I got you these earrings, I saw something on the floor amongst a pile of loose, tangled wires. I went over to investigate and discovered the doll. I freed it and took it to the owner who ran the store. Strangely enough, he had never seen the doll before and didn't care to put a price on it so...I got it for free."

"Really?" His wife was genuinely surprised, "And it looks imported as well! You certainly are a lucky man." She then turned to her daughter and bent over asking, "Now what are you going to name your new friend?"

Their daughter lifted the doll to her ear and tilted her head, as if to listen to it. She then replied, "Marion!"

"'Marion', what a cute name! Where did you come up that?"

"She told me to call her that!" Their daughter giggled, as if the answer was obvious.

Togusa gave his daughter an odd look but then chuckled. His daughter was always so creative.

"Alright, well it's time for you and Marion to get to bed." His wife informed in her motherly tone, "Now that Gabu has returned home, you do not have an excuse to stay up past bedtime."

"Yes, Mama," The girl replied. She didn't seem too bothered now that she had Marion to play with.

Togusa picked his daughter up and said, "I'll put you two to bed, how about that?"

"Okay!"

He carried her upstairs and set her down once they made it to her bedroom. His daughter placed the doll on the bed first before grabbing her nightgown and going into the bathroom to change. Togusa waited for her and looked over at Marion who was sitting up against the pillows, facing its shoes.

Soon, his daughter exited the bathroom in her pink, frilly nightgown and joined her doll on the bed. She situated herself under the sheets as her father pulled the covers over her chest.

"It's good to see you again," He smiled, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," She smiled back.

He kissed her forehead saying, "Sleep well." He looked over at her new companion and said, "You sleep well too, Marion."

Of course, there was no audible response from the doll.

Togusa turned off the lamp on his daughter's nightstand and headed for the door. His daughter turned on her side, closing her eyes, as Marion sat next to her. Togusa slowly began to close the door behind him and as he was closing it, he saw that the doll was watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Day 2

The next morning, Togusa's daughter was sitting at the dining room table with Marion in the chair next to her. The girl was eating a traditional breakfast meal of rice, eggs, and banana. She would playfully offer Marion food yet the doll silently refused.

Togusa entered the kitchen and greeted his wife before noticing his daughter in the other room.

"She certainly loves her new doll." His wife commented while hand drying a plate, "She came down here this morning and insisted I prepare a plate for Marion but I told her they could share one."

"I hope she won't make us get two of everything," Togusa joked. He then offered, "I can drive her to school. I don't have to get to work early today."

His wife nodded until she suddenly felt a small hand pat her leg. She looked down and saw her daughter holding up her empty dish.

"Did you and Marion enjoy the food?" Her mother asked.

"It was delicious!" The girl smiled. She looked at her father and asked, "Can I take Marion to school?"

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, honey." Togusa squatted down to be at eye-level with his daughter, "Marion's made of porcelain which means she's very fragile and if you're not careful, she could break...you wouldn't want that now, would you?"

"No…" She shook her head with a pout.

Togusa delicately moved some brunette hair out of her face and suggested, "How about she ride in the car with us? Then when I drop you off, you can leave her with me."

"Okay!" She replied cheerfully. She scurried over to her backpack before grabbing Marion, "I'm ready to go!"

On the drive to school, his daughter was humming a tune that he had not heard before. It was in a minor key and if she had not hummed it in a quick and playful rhythm, it could have sounded melancholy. He shook his head at the thought and simply assumed that whatever she was humming was probably her rendition of a song from the radio. Marion sat in her lap and was being made to sway from side to side in her small owner's hands.

The car finally slowed to a stop and Togusa turned and looked at his daughter in the backseat.

"Have a nice day at school, Sweetie." He smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy!" She replied. She opened the door and placed Marion where she was sitting. She strapped a seat belt across the doll and said, "Be good, okay?" She closed the car door and waved "goodbye" to her father before meeting up with her friends.

Togusa watched her leave until he saw her make it to the front doors. He looked in the rearview mirror and could see the doll quietly sitting in the backseat. It was quite the eerie sight but he didn't let it bother him.

He made his way onto the freeway and headed for Section 9. He turned on the radio and listened to the news station on his way there. He could not help but glance at the rear view mirror every now and then and everytime he did so, the doll was always in a slightly different position. It was most likely from the bumps in the road causing the small doll to move about in the backseat.

He pulled into Section 9's parking garage and began to search for a place to park. He wanted to back into a space but when he looked into the rearview mirror, Marion was gone. He stopped the car and quickly turned his upper body around to investigate her absence but to his surprise, Marion was still strapped into the seat. He furrowed his brows and could not comprehend what just happened. He looked into the mirror and her reflection remained.

"I didn't have my coffee this morning…" Togusa thought aloud as a way to debunk the scenario. He parked his car and soon exited it. He locked the car until he heard two electronic beeps and as he walked by the back doors, he eyed the doll. Its piercing blue eyes seemed to follow his movement yet to him, it was most likely an optical illusion of the glass material.

Inside, he met up with Batou in the elevator. The tall cyborg gave a nod of greeting and stood quietly with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"How's Gabriel?" Togusa asked his cohort.

"She's doing well; your family took good care of her," Batou replied without looking at him, "However, she seemed very exhausted when I got her home..more so than usual. Your daughter must've worn her out."

Togusa chuckled, "She thinks all dogs are puppies...that's why I was sure to get her something almost as good so she wouldn't have to beg us to get her one."

"The caucasian doll you brought back?"

"That's the one." Togusa nodded and rubbed the back of his neck, "She's already grown very attached to it."

"I see…"

"Speaking of which...do you know what the significance of the name 'Marion' is?"

"'Marion'?"

"Yeah, that's what my daughter named the doll...but I'm not exactly sure where she came up with it."

Batou looked up and began to access the web, doing some internal research through his optics and cyberbrain. "Marion: the French diminutive form of Marie which was derived from the Hebrew name Miryam. The meaning of the name is debated but it ranges from 'rebellion' to 'lady of the sea'…"

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain where she got that name…"

"Perhaps the doll came up with it…" Batou almost smirked.

"No no, don't give me that…" Togusa looked dissatisfied by the suggestion.

Batou paused for a moment and began to say, " _She_ really liked the name Marion…"

"Huh?" Togusa looked up at him, "What was that?"

"Nothin'." He shrugged, "Just thinking aloud."

Two hours passed and Togusa was finishing some paper work. He walked by the computer lab but as he passed the open door, he noticed a small person sitting at one of the computers. He stopped and backed up to see who it was but whatever had been there, vanished. For a split second, he thought he had saw Marion.

It sent chills up his spine.


	3. Chapter 3

Day 3

The mid-afternoon sun was low in the sky and Togusa was sitting in the living room, reading the paper and watching the local news. He watched the aftermath of the LOCUS SOLUS mission and the downfall of the company. He was just glad it was all over.

Out of nowhere, he felt a small hang tug on his pant leg. He shifted his newspaper a bit too quickly and had almost jumped at the feeling but when he saw that it was his daughter, he relaxed.

"Hey, Sweetheart." He sighed in almost relief, "Are you doing okay?"

She nodded, "Marion and I want to play in here."

"Alright, just play quietly so I can watch the news."

"Okay!" She carried Marion to the center of the floor and told the doll, "You sit right there, I'm going to grab the tea!" The young girl skipped out of the room.

Togusa's eyes wandered over the newspaper and towards the small doll sitting on the floor. It gazed at him with its glossy glass optics and toothless grin.

Finding it too unsettling but not wanting to give in so easily, he stood and left the paper on the seat as he headed for the kitchen in the other room. He went to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup as he simply wanted to keep himself busy. As the hot brew filled the mug, he looked over at the living room and to his surprise, the doll's head was turned so it was no longer looking at Togusa's chair, but now at the television screen. Knowing that his daughter was still absent, the mere position startled him; so much so that he over filled his cup and the hot drink spilled onto his human hand, causing him to drop the mug. It broke on impact.

"Shit!" He cursed as he seethed in pain and was upset over breaking his favorite mug.

His wife had heard the break from upstairs so she began to rush down the stairs.

"Togusa!" She called, "Is everything alright? What broke?"

"Everything's fine, Honey." He waved her off, not wanting her to worry even though he was compressing his hand with the other as a way to sooth the pain, "I accidentally dropped the coffee mug."

"Oh no, not your favorite one!" The disappointment was clear to hear.

"Yes...my 'favorite one'..." He sighed.

"I can buy you a new one tomorrow!"

"There's no need to. Really."

He hesitated but eventually looked back into the living room once again.

There he saw his daughter standing with a look of worry on her face as she had her arms wrapped around Marion's upper body.


	4. Chapter 4

Day 6

A few nights passed and Togusa simply could not bring himself to sleep. Everywhere he went, it seemed like Marion was always lingering around the corner. The doll stressed him out more than all the missions he had ever partaken in combined; He felt like he was going insane.

One night, he had returned late from work. He thought that if he stayed longer hours then perhaps he would not have to deal with the doll so much. His wife took notice of this and waited for his return.

"Honey, you're still up?" He asked as he made his way upstairs. The exhaustion was very visible.

"I was waiting for you…" She replied with a slight frown, "You've been working later shifts and it almost seems like you never get any sleep...what's wrong?"

He rubbed his forehead, "If I told you...you'd think I'm crazy…"

"No no, of course not!" She tried to reassure him. She linked arms with him and walked him up the stairs and through the hallway. The door to his daughter's room was cracked open so he avoided to look inside.

Once they made it to their bedroom, Togusa began to undress himself. He simply removed his jacket, pants, and tie and did not bother changing into any night attire; he simply did not have the energy for it so he went ahead and laid in bed. His wife turned off all the lights and soon joined him. She combed through his hair with her fingers and looked at him quietly.

After a few silent moments, her husband asked, "What do you think about Marion?"

"'Marion'?" She briefly forgot to put a face to the name until she realized he was referring to the doll, "Oh! Well, she certainly makes our daughter happy-"

"Right…" That was all he needed to hear. She was right. His daughter was very happy with the doll no matter how he felt about the toy. He simply wanted to know why he kept imagining it everywhere. Did he have pediophobia? Did just seeing all of the doll-like gynoids from the factory haunt a piece of his subconscious? Or perhaps, the new hardware in his now augmented brain was playing tricks on him.

Debunking his "fear" brought comfort to him and thus he felt his body drifting off to sleep. However, this feeling would not last very long.

Very early in the morning, while his wife was fast asleep, the door very slowly creaked open. The sound caused him to shift in bed and soon he opened his eyes. Tiny but hard footsteps could be heard casually moving from one side of the room to the other. He felt too drowsy to process the noises exactly but as his eyes slowly began to adjust, he could see a shadow near the back wall of the room. As he sat up, the shadow quickly disappeared. He got out of bed yet had to steady himself as his body was still partially asleep.

Small shuffling sounds were now coming from the closet. The objects being moved jingled and gave small clanks. It sounded like jewelry. He grabbed a hammer out of his nightstand (which was always used to put up imported paintings for the room) and held it in defense. He slowly crept his way towards the closet before pushing the door open. He did not want to wake his wife so he used the light from his handy cellphone to inspect the area.

The light revealed that drawers to the small dresser that his wife kept her jewelry in were open. The items looked out of order but what shocked him the most was what he discovered on the ground.

Togusa squatted down and found the sapphire earrings that he had given his wife. She wore them practically everyday and was always sure to be careful with them and neatly store them away. As he scooped the jewels into his hands, he heard footsteps running off behind him. He spun around and caught a glimpse of blonde curls running past the bedroom doorway and down the hall. He felt his heart jump at the sight but he was determined to get rid of it. He put the earrings away and rushed out of the room to catch up with the perpetrator but stopped in his tracks once he was in the hallway.

Marion was lying limp at the top of the steps. It looked like it made no attempt to go down the stairs. Togusa did not want to get near that thing but the mere idea that this doll was probably sentient and playing with his daughter angered him. He walked over to the porcelain piece and grabbed it with his palm pressed against its face with the hammer in his other hand. He did not want to look at its eyes or grin. He made his way down the stairs and went as far as exiting the house.

There was a community dumpster right down the street that he journeyed to. He lifted the impact lid and cringed at the smells of rotting food and other waste. He lifted the doll's body and hovered it over the container. He pondered for a long moment, longer than he anticipated, and thought of how disappointed his daughter would be with her missing doll. He then remembered that this was no ordinary doll and that it must be disposed of.

Togusa finally released Marion from his grasp and it fell face up on the pile of filth. Whether it was the shadows created by the street lamps or simply the frustration Togusa felt, but it looked like Marion was no longer grinning; she almost looked pained.

He finally shut the lid and stood back from the dumpster. His breathing was heavy but he felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

"She's gone...everything will be okay…" He told himself while walking back towards the house.


	5. Chapter 5

Day 7

Togusa could not tell if he had a restful night or that he simply passed out once he returned to bed.

 _Everything will be okay._

The mantra in his head repeated over and over again. No more doll, no more restless nights, no more worries.

He got up a little later than usual but seemed to be in a better mood. He heard his wife cooking breakfast in the kitchen and could smell the filling aroma of food. He then realized that with the absence of Marion, his daughter would grow concerned and become upset but he would have much rather take that chance than have the doll continue living in their house.

He poured himself a cup of coffee in his temporary mug and sat at the counter. He looked around and asked, "Where's our little girl?"

"She is looking around for her doll," His wife replied, "Silly thing must have misplaced it and forgotten where she put it."

"I see…" Togusa responded almost in a mumble as he brought the drink to his lips.

As he sat looking through the emails on his phone, he heard his daughter's voice.

"Mama, I found her!" The girl happily entered the room while raising Marion up in the air.

Togusa almost choked on his coffee and he felt his heart suddenly begin to race. How in the world did the doll get here? How is it still intact? Why doesn't it look and smell filthy?

"H-honey...where did you find her?" He struggled to ask. He could feel his hand trembling and so much so that he spilled hot droplets of coffee on the counter.

"In my closet! She is very clever at hiding!" She giggled.

Her mother then commented, "I'm glad that you found her Love but now you must eat your breakfast or you will be late for school!"

"Yes, Mama!" The girl yipped as she carried her doll into the dining room.

Togusa slowly turned and looked back at his daughter and her playmate and of course, the doll's head was turned directly towards him. He stood and made his way to the closet in the hallway. He grabbed a large briefcase and opened it up before removing everything inside and tossing it to the bottom of the closet. After doing all of this, he closed the briefcase and held it as if he had important files to hand over to Section 9.

Togusa's wife handed her daughter her lunch bag and kissed her head.

"Your father is going to take you to school today, okay?"

"Okay!" She smiled and looked at her father as Marion hung in her arms.

Togusa could not bring himself to smile back.

"Let's go then." He gave a nod and allowed the girl to enter the garage first.

He placed the briefcase in the passenger seat and his daughter asked, "What's that for?"

"Important business."

"Oh okay." She shrugged as she combed her doll's hair with her fingers.

When they arrived at the school, Togusa's daughter exited the vehicle and strapped Marion to the seat in her place.

"Have a nice day, Sweetheart." Togusa forced a smile.

"You too!" She smiled back before saying to Marion, "You be good to Daddy, okay?"

The comment sent chills up his spine. It's as if she knows something that he doesn't...or _does_. She waved goodbye and trotted towards the school to meet up with her friends. As she was out of view, Togusa slowly drove out of school grounds and parked his car in an empty alleyway nearby. He used the "Detective Mode" on his vehicle to scan the area for any people and once the coast was clear, he exited the car.

He opened the backseat door and unbuckled Marion before grabbing her and opening the passenger door. There he unlocked his briefcase and placed the doll inside. He locked her in and went as far as buckling up the suitcase against the seat for extra "protection".

Once the deed was done, Togusa got back into the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel. He went into the opposite direction of headquarters and headed straight for Shinjuku.

"Sorry Chief…" Togusa said aloud since he was going to miss work; he did not know how exactly to explain the situation if he were to inform his superior of his absence.

As he drove closer and closer towards the city, the briefcase began to shake.


	6. Chapter 6

Day 7 Continued

"Where in the world is Togusa?" Chief Aramaki looked very displeased as he interrogated the men in his office.

The recruits and other newcomers looked amongst each other and then directed their attention to the bulky silent cyborg near the entrance.

Batou had his arms crossed and shrugged, "Beats me."

Aramaki use to expect Batou to have all the answers even if it was a smart or sly comment in return; but alas, he never was the same once the Major left. However, after the Locus Solus mission, he was ever so slightly better.

"Fine. Get back to work." Aramaki crossed his legs and turned his back to them in his leather rotating chair.

Batou left the room first and right as he did so, Ishikawa caught up to him. He looked over at his tech savvy friend and noticed that he looked like he needed to tell him something.

"Togusa called me earlier…" Ishikawa informed him in a hushed tone.

Batou didn't understand why he was so quiet yet he was interested to hear more, "What did he say?"

"He says he's heading for Shinjuku because it's something about a doll...like how it leers at night and...I dunno, it was really odd but he didn't want to say anything to Aramaki."

Batou's face hardened a bit and he patted Ishikawa's shoulder saying, "I have to go. Tell Aramaki I'll be working on a side operation."

"Wait- but-" Ishikawa began yet Batou got away too quickly. The bearded brainiac scratched the side of his face and sighed.

Batou was on his way to Shinjuku. He had the phone to his ear, hoping Togusa would pick up. After a few attempts, he got an answer.

"I'm really busy right now, Batou..." Togusa tried to conclude.

"Togusa, I know what you're going to do." Batou began, "And I have to be there when it happens…"

"What? Why? What do you know?"

"Just trust me on this." Batou synced his phone up with his car and was now able to track where Togusa was. The district he was in was very rundown yet there was something that made it very popular for tourists; the local psychic.

The two men met up in an empty parking lot. Togusa was lugging the now heavy briefcase in which Batou offered to carry but was turned down.

As they began to walk, Togusa asked, "Why did you want to come with me? Afraid I couldn't handle myself?"

"Well you _are_ an upper middle class man in a fancy suit walking through a crime-riddled city holding a briefcase that is most commonly used for transporting drug money...but that's besides the point."

"You know, that's the most I've heard you talk in years…" Togusa responded, taking some offense.

"I can go all day if you want."

"No thanks…"

The location was a few blocks down from where they were. They walked past many poor residents of the city and, unsurprisingly, most of them were full-prosthetic cyborgs. Many were missing body parts or simply had mechanical parts that no longer functioned. They eyed the two men as well as the black briefcase. Batou was unfazed by all the stares and frankly didn't notice it. Togusa was very irked by them and tried his best not to stare back.

Soon they made it to their destination. They knew they were at the correct location since there was a sign next to the entrance on the side of the old, worn down building that read _PSYCHIC READINGS AND HEALINGS_. Batou opened the red rusty iron door for Togusa and kept watch as they entered the facility. They were presented with a white stairway which had red arrows pointing in the direction they needed to go; up. They found themselves walking up to the third floor which happened to be very dimly lit. The door to the psychic's compound had a sign that told visitors to knock before entering which is what Togusa proceeded to do.

There was a slot at eye-level on the door that opened up just moments after the man knocked. The naturally narrow female eyes behind it were a very high value green and seemed very mystical; it was obvious that they belonged to the psychic herself.

"Who has come to see me?" The female voice on the other side asked. Her accent sounded very foreign to Togusa even though he knew the woman was born in Japan.

"I thought you would know." Batou scoffed since he was always skeptical of psychics' powers.

Her eyes drew their attention to Batou and she replied with, " _I_ do know. I want to know if _he_ does." She looked back at Togusa.

Togusa cleared his throat and informed, "I'm Togusa and this is my partner from work, Batou."

"Who else?"

"Huh? It's just us." Togusa looked confused.

"If it is just the two of you, then you would not have come here in the first place."

Togusa processed her words for a moment and then realized she was talking about the doll, "O-oh...the doll…"

The psychic stared at him for a long moment before closing the slot and beginning to unlock the door.

The door opening revealed a tall slender woman with almost white pale skin and raven hair. Her eyebrows were very small and her makeup was almost like that of a geisha. She wore a long deep blue silky robe with gold flower embroidery and it revealed much of her cleavage. She was certainly very attractive.

"You may remove your shoes inside. They will get stolen if you leave them outside." She turned as her river of hair followed.

The men did as they were told and closed the door behind them.

Upon entering the room, they were greeted with the pungent smell of incense and honey. The walls were covered with foreign decor, most of it coming from Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East. All the furniture had soft pillows and cushions and every inch of the floor had carpet. The overall color scheme were reds and violets adorned with gold. The few lights that lit the areas were not natural but filtered with red and some black light bulbs.

The woman led them to a living room with two dark red couches facing a square table. She removed a crystal ball that was on the table and moved it under the furniture. She then lounged on the couch and gestured for them to take a seat on the couch opposite of hers. The men quietly did so and awaited further instruction.

"Place the doll onto the table." She instructed as she reached behind herself before grabbing the hose of a violet hookah bong and sticking the mouthpiece between her lips.

Togusa opened his briefcase and set the now motionless doll onto the table in front of them. Batou watched carefully.

The psychic leaned forward and inspected the little guest, "Where did you find her?"

"An antique store in China." Togusa replied.

"How long have you had her?"

"For about a week now."

"You got her for a child?"

"For my daughter."

The psychic then took the doll into her arms and stood it on her lap, "What has this little one done to you?"

"Oh you know...moves on its own, opens drawers and makes a mess, disappears every now and then...I even tried disposing it in a dumpster but it returned the next day as if nothing had happened."

"You what?" Batou intervened and looked irritated which Togusa was caught off guard by.

The psychic studied the men and now sat the doll in her lap, facing them. She then asked, "Batou, why did _you_ come? This doll has caused trouble for your friend here but not to you...but _something_ does seem to haunt you."

"Maybe I need some answers too…" Batou replied a bit more gently.

The psychic smiled and tilted her head so that her ear was near the doll asking, "Perhaps you have those answers?"

The doll replied with silence.

The psychic suddenly flipped her own hair aside so that it was over one shoulder. She pulled out a cord from her neck port and attached it to the back of the doll's neck.

Togusa was shocked. This was no ordinary doll, it was a small gynoid. That explained how it was able to move on its own yet it did not explain its intentions. The psychic's eyes turned blue and she was suddenly very still and quiet. Her head slowly tilted up and the look on her face was stoic.

"I've finally been able to reach you." A familiar voice sounded from the psychic. A different vibe radiated from her. She no longer was the stranger they just met but a friend they once knew.

Batou smirked and knew exactly who it was yet Togusa still had no idea what was going on.

"You're still the rookie I know." An audible chuckle could be heard.

"Major?..." Togusa's eyes widened, "But….how?"

"I never vanished off the face of the earth. I have always been around; watching over my comrades." She began to explain, "I infiltrated this 'doll' in attempts to communicate with you."

Togusa seemed to somewhat understand but then asked in frustration, "Why would you bring my daughter into this?"

"She was the only person who could hear me...but not the only one who could sense me." Her eyes shifted towards Batou.

Togusa looked at his cohort and asked, "You knew?"

"The moment I first saw the doll." Batou gave a nod.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think her revelation would take this long."

"That's besides the point." The Major continued, "You and your family are in danger, Togusa. That antique store was Yakuza property and because of the way you both handled 'negotiating' with them during Locus Solus, you now have a bounty on both of your heads."

"That was Batou's damn fault for shooting up the place!" Togusa knew at the time it was a bad idea and now he could not believe it would bite back on both of their asses.

"I admit, I take some credit..." Batou replied smugly with crossed arms.

"The Yakuza know your location because of those earrings you bought your wife."

"What about the doll? It was in the store too."

"I moved it there from another location." She reassured, "But you must evacuate your family as soon as possible. They've already tagged the location of your residence and within the next 24 hours, they will come for you and your family.

"This is insane…" Togusa gripped his head in stress. The thought of his family in danger terrified him and he was inclined to put the blame on Batou.

His partner stood and said, "Then we need to get going now...who knows if they've got eyes on us here in the city as well."

"They do." The Major responded.

"Will you help us?" Togusa asked as the look on his face was now full of worry.

"Of course." She gave a nod and lightly grinned, "Just like old times."


	7. Chapter 7

Togusa, Batou, and now the Psychic, who was possessed by Motoko, quickly exited the building. She supplied themselves with weapons and ammunitions to take on the oncoming Yakuza in the surrounding territory.

Batou was slightly perturbed that the Major was using someone else's body (which was highly illegal) and asked, "Are you sure it's alright for you to use her body?"

"She was the one who shared her neck port with mine." The Major pointed out, "Besides, I don't go by the law anymore."

"That's kind of sexy."

"Thanks."

"Can we stop with the flirtations and save my family?" Togusa asked in frustration.

"Batou, escort Togusa and yourself to the white sedan just south of this block; use that to get out of the city."

"What about our cars?" Togusa asked.

"The Yakuza know where they are and are most likely waiting there as an ambush; bombs most likely."

Batou scoffed, "Damn...I paid a lot of money for that hunk of junk's upgrade...well what about you?"

"I'll cover you two; got it?"

"Affirmative." Both men responded. It had been years since they were given orders from a true leader.

Just at the entrance of the alley they were in, 4 men in suits appeared equipped with SMGs. Motoko had an SMG of her own, the Beretta M12, and immediately began taking fire as her cohorts ran down in the opposite direction. Togusa and Batou made it to the main street and looked around. There were at least 5 different white sedans in the area and Batou's eyes were scanning each one to locate the right one. He ducked at the sound of bullets launching towards them and hitting the ground besides them. He looked up and noticed a Yakuza member on the roof of a building holding an automatic rifle. Batou's pistol had too short of a range to fire back so he had to rely on sprinting to dodge the enemy.

As the men ran, the bullets hit bystanders instead of their targets. Batou noticed the license plate on one of the cars that read _2501_ and he knew that was it.

"There Togusa! It's that one right-" Batou then felt a sharp pain hit his right arm; the rifleman blew a chunk off of him. Batou cursed and turned back to look at the enemy straight on while covering his buddy to get to the vehicle. The rifleman tilted his head and looked through the scope but right as he did, he was shot directly in the forehead. Batou looked to his right and noticed another man holding a rifle, however, he was the one who just took out the one on the roof. The mysterious gunman looked back at Batou; he had very light blond hair and blue eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed to be a very long time and all of a sudden, Batou knew who he was.

Togusa started the car, the key was already in the ignition, and he called to his partner, "Batou, let's go!"

Batou looked back at Togusa but ducked once again when it seemed like the blond haired man was going to shoot him. Instead, the man shot an enemy that was running towards the cyborg from behind. Batou could not waste anymore time so he ran towards the car and hopped inside. Togusa quickly made the car donut and began to drive as fast and as safely as possible.

"What about Motoko?" Batou asked, "We can't just leave her back there!"

"Don't worry, boys. I'm on my way to Togusa's wife's location." The Major's voice could be heard through the sedan's stereo.

"What? Shouldn't I be the one to do that?" Togusa asks.

" _You_ need to pick up your daughter from school. I'm sure you taught her not to talk to strangers."

"Right…"

"What can I do? Togusa carpooling me around isn't going to help anything." Batou said.

"I'll send a car for you at the school. From there, you can rendezvous with me at Togusa's house."

"Got it."

"Where should I take my daughter?" Togusa then asked.

"Anywhere but home." Major responded.

"Understood." Togusa took a deep breath. His hands were trembling as he gripped the steering wheel. His whole family was a target and he was deathly afraid for their safety. It did somewhat reassure him that the Major was back on their side again but at the same time, he just wanted this to go back to the way things were.

The car ride felt long due to the silence lingering between him and Batou. They were both deep in thought as they planned their next moves. The only spoken words that were uttered between the two was when Togusa called the school, asking for an early dismissal for his daughter. Of course private school's were always so stingy when it came to such things but when he said it was an emergency, they did as they were told.

Togusa pulled up to the carpool area and exited the car with Batou. They were right outside the closed iron gate entrance of the school, waiting for the arrival of the young girl. Soon, a blue lamborghini egoista pulled up next to the sedan. Batou's brows raised and he made his way over to the luxury vehicle. Leaving the car was the same blonde man from earlier. He looked directly at Batou before tossing his keys towards his hands. After doing so, he walked away and disappeared around the corner as if he never came by in the first place.

Togusa's daughter finally appeared and was being escorted through the courtyard by one of the teachers' assistants. Togusa wearily smiled at the girl until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

"Togusa speaking." He answered in curiosity.

"Togusa...someone's here for me at the front desk and I don't know who they are." His wife said quietly on the other line.

"It's alright," He tried to reassure, "It's an old friend of mine. She'll protect you."

"'She'? Mizuki at the front desk told me there were three men in suits looking for me…" She sounded nervous, "At first I-" Gunfire could be heard in the background of her call. "Oh god! They have guns!"

"Honey? Honey! What's going on?" Togusa looked fearful. The phone on the other line sounded like it fell and his wife's voice was no longer speaking through it. Instead, he heard the screams of her fellow co-workers as well as the sounds of gunfire.

"That pretty one over there is his wife!" A raspy man's voice shouted, "Take her to the Yubara Strip-Club...we'll have plenty of fun with her there…" His wife's cries could be heard as the men were grabbing her and taking her away. The call ended when the phone was suddenly smashed.

"Togusa...what's wrong?" Batou asked. He was watching his partner during the whole ordeal.

Right when Togusa's daughter made it to the gates, he said, "I have to go...please take care of my daughter!" Togusa went back inside his car and was preparing to leave.

"Togusa!" Batou called to the man and banged on the side of the sedan, "What are you doing?!"

"They've got my wife, dammit!" Togusa shouted, "Please...just make sure my daughter gets somewhere safe! I'm going out there alone!" He moved the stick shift and sped away.

"Togusa!" Batou called for him in frustration. Just when he wanted to curse, he cut himself short when he realized that a child was now present.

"Is Daddy okay?" She asked in worry.

"Y-yeah...yeah, he'll be fine…." Batou wished it were true, "Tell me...do you have any Aunts who live nearby?"

* * *

As Togusa was speeding through the streets, the Major's voice appeared on the stereo once again, "Togusa, I-"

"It's all your fault that they've got her!" He yelled in anger, "They've got her and they're going to hurt her!..."

"Togusa, just listen to me-"

"There's a reason why you no longer work for Section 9...why should I listen to you?!"

"I know where they're taking her."

"So do I."

"You don't know what's waiting there for you."

"I don't care! I just want to get my wife out of there safely no matter what…"

"You can't do this alone."

"Watch me…" He cut communications with her. He yelled angrily as flashbacks of his wife and daughter danced in his mind. He just wanted his normal life back. He just wanted all of the mess to go away.


End file.
